Trending Now

You are here

Carpenter finishes 24th at state golf finals

FRANKLIN — Time is on Quentyn Carpenter’s side. It just wasn’t Wednesday.
The Triton sophomore’s start was delayed five hours due to weather at the second round of the 75th Annual IHSAA Boys State Golf Finals, and he struggled to follow up his even-par 72 first round with a 7-over 79 at The Legends of Indiana Golf Course to slip from 19th to 24th in Franklin.
“It was a long day today,” he said. “I didn’t go to sleep or anything; I just tried to stay awake during the whole break. I hung around the Warsaw guys and just tried to have fun with them and talk and have a good time. I got out there today and I started out good. I was playing good today with the conditions the way they were and just couldn’t finish strong at the end.”
“I wouldn’t say I was tired,” he added. “I came down the stretch and I just didn’t make the shots I wanted to make. I hit the driver everywhere today and the irons. I putted really well throughout the playoffs and today I just didn’t putt well at all, and unfortunately today was the wrong day for it.”
Originally scheduled for a 7:30 a.m. tee time, Carpenter was forced to wait around until well into the afternoon in the sloppy conditions. He double-bogeyed No. 5 a second straight day at The Legends but unlike his opening round added double bogeys on 3 and 13. His only birdie came on the 364-yard par 4 14th hole after posting a trio of birdies to advance out of the first round Tuesday.
“It did hurt,” said Triton head golf coach and Carpenter’s father Jack Carpenter of Wednesday’s delay. “He had the first tee time at 7:30, so we’re here at 6:30 this morning. Then we finally got him off I think at 12:30.
“I told him that as we walked up to the first tee ‘With the delay that we had today and with it being rainy, it’s going to be about your mental approach just as much as it is the physical game.’ He got off to an OK start. He saved himself, made a couple long putts and then he misses a couple short putts that were for birdie. So a 38 could have probably been 36 or it probably could have been 40 also, so it kind of evens out.”
The good news for Quentyn is that he’s still got plenty of golf ahead of him.
He won a two-hole playoff to advance out of the Homestead Regional last Thursday in the IHSAA’s first year of eliminating the rule for automatic advancement for any third-place individual ties in the state series. The Trojans No. 1 finished out his freshman season tied for 19th, becoming the first Triton golfer to make the second day cut at state after advancing with his team last year. He replicated that feat with a gutsy, down-to-the-wire par performance Tuesday before slipping five places on the leaderboard Wednesday.
“He’s the only kid in our school history that’s made it to the second day (at state), and he’s been able to do it twice as a freshman and sophomore,” said Jack. “I know he was disappointed because at one point he was sitting at sixth if you follow the online scoring. If he’d have shot even today, he would have been top 10 easily, because with the weather the scores were much higher today. He’s disappointed, but it’s going to make him work harder. “
“I didn’t play the way I wanted to play, but I’ve got two more years left at Triton and a lot of golf ahead of me, and hopefully I can become a better golfer over these two years,” Quentyn said. “We’ll see what I can do; hopefully, I can get back down here and win some big things and make some history.”
A two-year varsity point guard for Triton basketball who helped lead the Trojans to the 2010-11 Class A State Finals prior to the start of the golf season, Quentyn recently decided to forego hoops to focus exclusively on his golf game. He’ll start off-season play on Friday when he plays in the Indiana Open Championship qualifier.
“I spoke to (Triton basketball coach Jason Groves) and told him this is what I want to be,” said Qunetyn. “Today left a bad taste in my mouth, and I just want to get it out as soon as possible. I want to get out and get another tournament in.
“It’ll be a big summer for me, and hopefully I can do some things.”